Supreme Court questions selective forensic testing of leaked Manipur audio clips

The Supreme Court, on December 15, raised serious concerns over why only portions of leaked audio recordings linked to the 2023 Manipur ethnic violence were sent for forensic examination, despite the full material being available.

A bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Alok Aradhe said it was “little disturbed” by an affidavit filed on November 20 on behalf of the petitioners, which indicated that “only select clippings were sent” for analysis. The court asked why the entire 48-minute audio clip placed before it was not forwarded to the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU), Gandhinagar.

The issue is significant because the NFSU had earlier reported that the audio clips it examined were “tampered with”, a finding that effectively undermined allegations of wrongdoing levelled against former Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh. Singh resigned from office on February 9 amid internal dissent within the BJP and sustained calls for a leadership change in the violence-hit state.

During the hearing, the bench noted that the affidavit, which the respondents claimed had not been served on them, suggested selective submission of material. “Now this affidavit, which according to you has not been served upon you, states to the effect that only select clippings were sent…,” the court observed.

Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioners, said it was possible that the complete set of audio recordings submitted to the court had not been forwarded to the NFSU. When counsel for the respondents said they would respond to the affidavit, the bench pressed the point, asking why the full material had not been examined earlier and remarking, “But why should time be wasted again?”

The court then sought clarity on the total duration of the recordings. Bhushan said the original audio tapes ran to about 56 minutes, of which 48 minutes had been filed before the court. He added that the remaining portion could reveal the identity of the person who made the recording, disclosure of which could endanger his life.

The bench was unconvinced. “Once the entire tape was available with you, the entire tape ought to have been sent to the NFSU. Why should they send only this limited one?” it said, adding that the 48-minute clip should have been examined in full.

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati sought a week’s time to respond to the affidavit. Taking it on record, the bench listed the matter for further hearing on January 7.

The case arises from a petition filed by the Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR), which has sought an independent special investigation team probe into the leaked audio recordings. The petition alleges that the recordings point to the involvement of Singh and the state machinery in the violence against the Kuki-Zo community.

Earlier, on November 3, the Supreme Court noted that the NFSU had found the clips it examined to be edited and “not scientifically fit for forensic voice comparison”. Bhushan, however, referred to a separate forensic report claiming at least one recording was unedited.

The court’s scrutiny of the forensic process has been ongoing. On August 19, it criticised the Central Forensic Science Laboratory’s exercise as “misdirected”, noting that it had sought voice matching rather than a general assessment of authenticity. On August 25, the court formally referred the matter to the NFSU to determine whether the clips were modified or tampered with and whether the voices matched admitted samples.

The hearings stem from the wider context of the Manipur violence, which erupted in May 2023 following a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ opposing a Manipur High Court order on the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status. More than 260 people were killed and thousands displaced in clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities.

KOHUR has alleged that Singh was instrumental in “inciting, organising and thereafter centrally orchestrating the large-scale murder, destruction and other forms of violence against the Kuki-dominated areas in Manipur”, an allegation the former chief minister has denied.